Food thermometer and method of using thereof

ABSTRACT

An indication of an ambient temperature near food is received using an ambient temperature sensor of a food thermometer, and an indication of a food temperature at an interior portion of the food is received using one or more thermal sensors of the food thermometer. A rate at which the indication of the food temperature changes is determined, and the completion time is estimated based on at least the indication of the ambient temperature near the food and the rate at which the indication of the food temperature changes. In one aspect, a resting temperature rise is estimated based on the rate at which the indication of the food temperature changes and at least one of a food type, a thickness of the food, and an amount of time for the indication of the food temperature to increase by a temperature rise value during a period of cooking.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser.No. 15/192,850 (Atty. Docket No. APL-00100), filed on Jun. 24, 2016, andentitled “FOOD THERMOMETER AND METHOD OF USING THEREOF”, which claimsthe benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/184,775 (Atty DocketNo. 68643-00150), filed on Jun. 25, 2015, and entitled “SMART MEATTHERMOMETER AND METHOD OF USING THEREOF”. Each of U.S. application Ser.No. 15/192,850 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/184,775 is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to food thermometers and methods of usingthereof. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a foodthermometer that wirelessly transmits data.

BACKGROUND

Food thermometers such as meat thermometers have been used to helpprovide more consistent cooking results. The use of a meat thermometer,for example, can provide a visual indication on whether the meat isstill undercooked or if the meat is in danger of being overcooked.However, these conventional types of food thermometers provide a passiveindication of temperature and generally rely on the cook to remember tocheck the temperature.

More recently wireless food thermometers have been introduced to providea more convenient display of the temperature. However, such wirelessfood thermometers generally provide only a passive display of thetemperature and may not provide sufficiently accurate information duringcooking, such as a completion time, when to adjust a temperature, whento start or finish a particular cooking stage such as searing, or howlong to let the food rest after removing it from heat. In addition, suchwireless food thermometers have a limited range for transmittinginformation, especially in light of the challenges to conserve space,provide a waterproof enclosure, and withstand high temperatures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosurewill become more apparent from the detailed description set forth belowwhen taken in conjunction with the drawings. The drawings and theassociated descriptions are provided to illustrate embodiments of thedisclosure and not to limit the scope of what is claimed.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a food thermometer accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 2A shows the food thermometer of FIG. 1 being inserted in thedirection denoted by the arrow into food according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2B shows the food thermometer of FIG. 2A after insertion into thefood.

FIG. 3A shows wireless communications between the food thermometer and aportable electronic device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3B is a system diagram showing wireless connections between thefood thermometer of FIG. 3A and multiple portable electronic devices.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for a completion time estimation process accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for a resting temperature rise estimation processaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows an isometric view of a food thermometer according to anembodiment.

FIG. 7 is a view of the food thermometer of FIG. 6 showing internalcomponents according to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates various components of a food thermometer according toan embodiment.

FIG. 9A shows a charging apparatus for charging a battery of a foodthermometer according to an embodiment.

FIG. 9B shows the thermometer of FIG. 9A removed from the chargingapparatus.

FIG. 10A shows an exterior view of a food thermometer according to anembodiment.

FIG. 10B shows internal components of the food thermometer of FIG. 10Aaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 10C further shows internal components of the food thermometer ofFIG. 10B.

FIG. 10D is an internal side view of internal components of the foodthermometer of FIG. 10B.

FIG. 11A shows a food thermometer including an ambient thermal sensoraccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 11B shows a food thermometer including an ambient thermal sensor ina different location than in the food thermometer of FIG. 11A accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 11C shows a food thermometer including an ambient thermal sensorthat is also used as an antenna according to an embodiment.

FIG. 11D, shows a food thermometer including a charging contactaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 11E shows a food thermometer including an inner shell according toan embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth to provide a full understanding of the present disclosure. It willbe apparent, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art that thevarious embodiments disclosed may be practiced without some of thesespecific details. In other instances, well-known structures andtechniques have not been shown in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring the various embodiments.

This disclosure is directed to a smart food thermometer that can bepositioned inside a heat chamber (e.g., grill, oven, etc.) or on a heatsource.

One of the features is positioning electronic components that aresensitive to heat in a portion of the food thermometer that is insertedinto the meat. The meat protects the sensitive electronic componentsfrom heat. The entire food thermometer can be positioned in the heatchamber, which advantageously eliminates the need for a wired connectionto a device located on the exterior. The food thermometer includes awireless thermal sensor and an antenna. The antenna communicates thesensed temperature data to a portable electronic device.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a food thermometer 100according to an embodiment. The thermometer 100 includes a first portion106 having electronic components that are sensitive to heat. As shown inFIG. 1, the first portion is configured to be positioned in the food108. A second portion 104 is connected to the first portion 106. In someimplementations, the first portion 106 can include all of or part of athermal sensor for detecting the temperature of the food 108. In otherimplementations, the thermal sensor for detecting the temperature of thefood 108 can be located entirely or partially in a part of the secondportion 104 that is inserted into the food 108.

A third portion 102 is connected to the second portion 104 and includesan antenna for wirelessly transmitting data based on the detectedtemperature of the food 108. In addition, some implementations may alsoinclude an ambient thermal sensor in the third portion 102 to detect anambient temperature in the cooking vessel (e.g., oven or BBQ) that isclose to the exterior surface of the food 108. In some examples, thefood 108 is meat, but one of ordinary skill will appreciate that thethermometer 100 can be used with other types of food.

FIG. 2A shows the food thermometer 100 being inserted in the directiondenoted by the arrow into the food 108. FIG. 2B shows the foodthermometer 100 after insertion into the food 108. As shown in FIG. 2B,the third portion 102 remains outside of the food 108, but most of thesecond portion 104, and all of the first portion 106, are inside thefood 108. In some implementations, the first portion 106 and the secondportion 104 may not be separated from each other so that the firstportion 106 and the second portion 104 correspond to portions of acontinuous outer shell.

The lengths of the first portion 106 and the middle portion 104 can bechosen so that the thermally sensitive electronics are fully insertedinto a wide variety of types of food. In one example, the first portion106 and the second portion 104 each take up about half the length of thethermometer 100 before reaching the third portion 102. The relativelengths of the first portion 106 and the second portion 104 can vary inother implementations to accommodate different food thicknesses or foodtypes. In one example, the second portion 104 is arranged so that athermal sensor in the second portion 104 is positioned to measuretemperature across an area inside the food 108. In other examples, athermal sensor for measuring a food temperature can be located in thefirst portion 106. In addition, the cross section of the thermometer 100can be chosen to have a relatively small cross sectional area so as notto significantly disrupt the composure of the food 108.

As discussed in more detail below, including the thermally sensitiveelectronics in the first portion 106 ordinarily allows for protection ofthe thermally sensitive electronics by using the food 108 to insulatethe thermally sensitive electronics from the full heat of the cookingvessel. Other less thermally sensitive electronics may be included inthe second portion 104 or the first portion 106.

For example, the thermally sensitive electronics can include asolid-state battery such as a thin film lithium battery or other batterytype that may begin to degrade in performance at temperatures greaterthan a temperature of food being cooked (e.g., over 100° C. for meat).The ambient temperature inside a cooking vessel, such as an oven or aBBQ, can often reach temperatures in excess of 230° C. However, evenwhen the ambient temperature inside the cooking vessel is 230° C., thetemperature inside of a food such as a steak may only reach 77° C. for awell-done steak due to the thermal mass of the food.

In this regard, the thermally sensitive electronics in the first portion106 may include a thermal sensor for detecting the temperature of thefood 108. As discussed in more detail below, the third portion 102 or anend of the second portion 104 opposite the first portion 106 can includean ambient thermal sensor that can withstand or better detect highertemperatures than the thermal sensor used to detect the temperature ofthe food 108. The thermal sensor used to detect the temperature of thefood 108 in the first portion 106 and/or the second portion 104 can be adifferent type of sensor than the ambient thermal sensor used to detectthe ambient temperature near the food 108. In another implementation,the ambient thermal sensor may include an infrared sensor located in thefirst portion 106 or the second portion 104 that receives infrared lightradiated from a component in the third portion 102, such as the antennaor the handle, to indirectly measure an ambient temperature. A lightguide may also be used to direct the infrared light from the thirdportion 102 to the infrared sensor.

The location of the third portion 102 allows for the antenna to beunaffected by attenuation or interference that may be caused by the food108. In implementations where the third portion 102 includes an ambientthermal sensor, locating the ambient thermal sensor in the third portion102 ordinarily allows for the detection of the ambient temperatureinside the cooking vessel that is adjacent the exterior surface of thefood 108. Although conventional ovens and BBQs typically provide anindication of a temperature inside the cooking vessel, the actualtemperature near the food 108 can differ from the temperature at otherlocations in the cooking vessel. As discussed in more detail below,detecting the ambient temperature near an exterior surface of the food108 (e.g., within two or three inches) can provide an improvedtemperature measurement. This improved temperature measurement near theexterior surface of the food 108 can be used to determine a thermal massof the food 108, a more accurate completion time, a more accurateresting temperature rise, and/or better instructions for cooking thefood 108 to achieve a desired result.

FIG. 3A shows wireless communications between the thermometer 100 and aportable electronic device 110. A unique advantage of the presentinvention is that the food 108 and thermometer 100 can be positionedinside a heating vessel (such as an oven), and the thermometer 100 canwirelessly communicate with a portable electronic device 110, withoutany wired connections and without any additional hardware that serves asa connection bridge between the thermometer 100 and the portableelectronic device 110.

“Portable electronic device” as used herein refers to an electronicdevice having at least a processor, a memory, a display, and an antennafor enabling wireless communication. In one embodiment, the portableelectronic device is a smartphone (such as an iPhone®) or a tabletcomputer (such as an iPad®). In other embodiments, the portableelectronic device may be a smart watch or other types of smart deviceswith a processor and an antenna for communicating directly or indirectlywith the thermometer.

FIG. 3B is a system diagram showing wireless connections between thethermometer 100 and portable electronic devices 110 (e.g., 110 a and 110b). In one implementation, there may be a direct connection to a smartportable electronic device 110 a (e.g., a tablet, smartphone, laptop,etc.) using for example, a short range point to point communicationprotocol, such as a Bluetooth connection. If only short rangecommunication is utilized, then other users may be out of the wirelessrange, or have limited access when the user of the electronic device 110a is connected with the thermometer 100. In some implementations, theportable electronic device 110 a can be used as a connection bridge toconnect to more remote clients/smart portable electronic devices 110 bvia a wireless network 111 (e.g., a Wi-Fi connection).

Utilizing the smart portable electronic device 110 a as a bridge isparticularly advantageous in this application in which the thermometer100 is positioned in a cooking vessel such as a BBQ or oven in partbecause such cooking vessels can reduce wireless network range. Thesmart portable electronic device 110 a shares information received fromthe thermometer 100 with other smart devices (e.g. 110 b) via thewireless network 111 (e.g., an Internet Protocol network such as Wi-Fi),thereby allowing other users/devices at a greater distance to monitorthe cooking process. The connection between the thermometer 100 and thewireless network 111 is shown as dashed to indicate that there is avirtual connection between them. In such an implementation, the actualconnection is between the thermometer 100 and the bridge device (e.g.,smart portable electronic device 110 a) via interface 119, and alsobetween the bridge device and wireless network 111 via interface 117.For example, the bridging technology may be based on Bluetooth 4.0 orBluetooth 4.2, which allows Internet Protocol connectivity (e.g., IPv6)via Bluetooth 4.2 capable bridge devices to the local area network andthe internet. The foregoing described connectivity is provided as anexample. The bridge technology can enable other types of wirelessconnections based on design concerns and parameters.

Although in FIG. 3B, the bridge device is shown as a smart portableelectronic device 110, the bridge device can alternatively be a physicalbridge device such as the charging apparatus 700 discussed below withrespect to FIGS. 7A and 7B. In such an implementation, the chargingapparatus 700 can serve a dual purpose as a wireless connection bridgebetween the thermometer 100 and the wireless network 111 (similar to thebridge connectivity set forth above as to the smart portable electronicdevice 110 a), and as a charging device when the user seeks to chargethe thermometer 100.

It can be appreciated that the wireless network 111 may be a local areanetwork and/or a wide area network such as the internet. In oneimplementation, the system utilizes a connection to the internet and acloud-based service. The information transmitted by the thermometer 100can optionally be shared via cloud service 113 instead of a more directconnection between two or more smart devices.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the electronic device 110 a includes a processor114 configured to execute application 10 for processing data provided bythe thermometer 100 and presenting information to the user based on theprocessed data. Application 10 can include computer-executableinstructions stored in a memory 115 of the electronic device 110 a andaccessed as needed by processor 114. Thermometer 100 sends data such astemperature measurements to an interface 119 of the electronic device110 a. The processor 114 processes the received data in accordance withexecution of the application 10, and provides information using a userinterface of the application 10 on one or more output devices (e.g.,display and/or speaker) of the electronic device 110 a. The processor114 may also optionally send the processed data or data generated byexecuting the application 10 to the wireless network 111 via aninterface 117.

The user interface of the electronic device 110 a can, for example,display a current temperature of the food, a completion time prediction,or recommendations on how to cook the food 108 to achieve a resultspecified by the user such as a final doneness of the food 108 (e.g.,medium or well-done). The cooking instructions can include, for example,adjustments to temperature, when to flip a piece of meat, when to searthe food, when to remove the food from heat, or how long to let the foodrest after removing it from heat. Devices known in the art have not beenable to accurately predict completion times, predict a restingtemperature rise after removing the food from the cooking vessel, orprovide accurate instructions on when to adjust the cooking temperatureor perform another cooking action.

As noted above, more accurate predictions on completion time and restingtemperature rise can ordinarily be made by utilizing dual-sensortechnology. Using an ambient or external thermal sensor in or near thethird portion 102 can enhance estimation of heat input at the locationof the food 108, which can vary when the food 108 is moved, turned, orwhen changes in cooking environment occur, such as opening the hood of aBBQ, adjusting heat on a gas grill, or charcoal fuel losing heat. Theheat input at the location of the food 108 can be estimated moreaccurately using an ambient or external thermal sensor adjacent anexterior surface of the food 108 and measuring the ambient temperatureover a period of time.

In addition, the processor 114 can use application 10 to generate a heatresponse of the food 108 using a detected internal temperature in thesecond portion 104 over a period of time. The processor 114 can also useapplication 10 to determine a thermal mass of the food 108 using themeasured internal temperature and the measured ambient temperature overtime. In other implementations, the heat response and/or the thermalmass of the food 108 can be determined by the cloud service 113, theremote electronic device 110 b, electronics of the thermometer 100, orcombinations thereof.

In addition, the location of the ambient thermal sensor near theexterior surface of the food 108 ordinarily allows for an accuratedetermination of a thermal mass for the food 108. The thermal mass orheat capacity of the food 108 represents the ability of the food 108 tostore heat and can affect how quickly the food 108 heats up or coolsoff. By using actual measurements (i.e., the internal temperature andthe external temperature of the food 108), as opposed to a previouslystored value for a given food, variations in composition from a typicalcomposition (e.g., higher fat content, lower density) are accounted forin the thermal mass determined from the temperature measurements. Asdiscussed in more detail below, a thermal mass determined from empiricaldata for the actual food being cooked ordinarily provides a moreaccurate determination of useful information such as a completion time,a resting temperature rise, or specific instructions on cooking the food108, such as temperature adjustments during the cooking process.

Unlike conventional methods for estimating a completion time based onlyon an internal temperature or an external temperature, processor 114executing application 10 can more accurately estimate a completion timebased on a thermal mass of the food 108 by using the current internaltemperature of the food 108, the ambient temperature adjacent the food108, and time data. In other implementations, the estimation of acompletion time can be performed by the cloud service 113, the remoteelectronic device 110 b, electronics of the thermometer 100, orcombinations thereof. Completion time estimates can be further refinedby user input indicating, for example, a type of food being cooked, aweight of the food, or the type of preparation desired. In someimplementations, the user input can be used to provide an initialestimate of the thermal mass and the completion time, which can beadjusted based on data received from thermometer 100 as the food 108 isbeing cooked.

The application 10 according to some implementations can advantageouslyestimate a resting temperature rise that can be accounted for in thecompletion time estimate or in cooking instructions provided to theuser. Conventional cooking devices have not been able to account for aresting temperature rise of food in the cooking process. This can be duein part to a failure to accurately determine or consider a thermal massof the food that is actually being cooked, rather than using a presetvalue for a certain food type.

Resting is the process during which the food is removed from the heatsource and allowed to “rest” under normal ambient temperatures such asroom temperature. During this resting period, the food temperaturestabilizes and distributes more evenly within the food due to heatflowing from the warmer exterior of the food to its cooler interior. Theresting temperature rise can be, for example, several degrees and canmake the difference between a medium-rare or medium doneness in a steak.For most meats, the resting period also helps fluids redistribute moreevenly within the meat. Resting temperature rise is a dynamic parameterthat can depend upon several factors such as the thickness of the food,the thermal mass of the food, and the cooking temperature towards theend of the cooking cycle. Usually, the cooking temperature from thestart of cooking has already had time to equalize, but the cookingtemperature near the end of the cooking cycle will usually have more ofan effect on the resting temperature rise.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for an example completion time estimate processthat can be partly or wholly performed by the processor 114 of aportable electronic device, a charging device in wireless communicationwith the food thermometer, or by the food thermometer itself. To enhanceaccurate prediction, the process of FIG. 4 considers both an ambienttemperature and the temperature of the food. In some implementations,the process of FIG. 4 may also estimate a resting temperature or restingtemperature rise to allow cooking to end at a lower temperature. Thisadvantageously allows the resting temperature to rise to finish thecooking process throughout the food to a target temperature. Inaddition, the estimated resting temperature or resting temperature risecan take into account the thermal mass of the food in substantially realtime.

The current heat being applied is determined by current or recentmeasurements of an ambient thermal sensor in the thermometer. In oneimplementation, only or primarily recently applied heat is taken intoaccount as it has not yet progressed to internal parts of the meat. Inthis regard, the time parameters for the estimation can depend on thethermal mass of the food 108 being cooked. For example, the last threeto five minutes of ambient heat can be averaged and used as input heatfor a resting temperature rise prediction. The resting temperature riseprediction and/or an adjusted target temperature can be displayed to theuser of the portable electronic device 110 a to allow the user to endcooking.

As shown in FIG. 4, an indication of an ambient temperature near thefood is received in block 402. The indication of the ambient temperaturecan be received by a remote device via a wireless signal transmittedfrom the thermometer. In another implementation, a processor in theelectronics of the thermometer may receive the indication of the ambienttemperature from an ambient sensor of the thermometer. The location ofthe ambient temperature measurement can be near to an exterior of thefood, such as within three inches of the exterior of the food to providea more accurate indication of the heating of the food.

In block 404, an indication is received of the food temperature at aninterior portion of the food. With reference to the example ofthermometer 100 discussed above, this indication can come from one ormore thermal sensors located in the first portion 106 and/or the secondportion 104. As with the indication of the ambient temperature, theindication of the food temperature may be received by a processor of thethermometer or by a remote device.

In block 406, the rate at which the indication of the food temperaturechanges is determined. In one implementation, this can includedetermining a temperature rise value based on an indication of theambient temperature received in block 402. For example, an ambienttemperature range can be used to select the temperature rise value, X.This can ordinarily allow for the ambient temperatures near the food 108to be accounted for in determining the temperature rise value X.

In one implementation, the temperature rise value X is selected fromdifferent temperature rise values corresponding to different ambienttemperature ranges and/or types of food. In such an example, a table oftemperature rise values can be stored in memory 115 of device 110 foraccess by the processor 114. A user of the portable electronic device110 a, for example, may select a food type for the food from a pluralityof food types (e.g., ribeye steak, sirloin steak, chicken), with thedifferent food types being associated with different temperature risevalues for the same ambient temperature value or range of ambienttemperature values. The selection of a food type can ordinarily furthercustomize the estimation of a completion time and/or a restingtemperature rise.

In block 408, a completion time is estimated based on at least theindication of the ambient temperature and the rate at which theindication of the food temperature changes. In this regard, a thermalmass or thermal conductivity of the food is considered by using the rateat which the indication of the food temperature changes, and the heatapplied to the food is also considered through the indication of theambient temperature.

In one implementation, an amount of time is measured for the indicationof the food temperature to increase by a temperature rise value X asdiscussed above with reference to block 406. This measurement may beperformed by a processor of the thermometer monitoring a signal from thethermal sensor. In other implementations, the thermometer may transmitvalues for the temperature signal to a remote device that measures thetime for the indication of the temperature to increase by thetemperature rise value.

The completion time may include estimating a resting temperature risefor an amount of temperature rise in the food after the food will beremoved from heat. As discussed in more detail below, a thermal value ofthe food can be determined based on at least the temperature rise valueand at least one of a food type of the food and an initial amount oftime for the indication of the food temperature to increase by thetemperature rise value during an initial period of cooking. The thermalvalue for the food is then used to estimate the resting temperaturerise. In such an example, the thermal value represents a thermalconductivity or thermal mass of the food. This allows for the ability ofthe food to heat up to be considered when estimating a completion timeor a resting temperature rise.

For example, a time t1 can be measured from the beginning of cookinguntil the temperature of the food 108 rises by a temperature rise valueX during an initial portion of the cooking process. A second time t2 canbe measured for the temperature of the food 108 to rise by the value Xduring a middle or more steady-state portion of the cooking process thatfollows the initial portion of the cooking process. A thermal value kcan be calculated based on the temperature rise during the middleportion of cooking using Equation 1 below.

k=X/t2  Equation 1

The resting temperature rise can be calculated using Equation 2 below.

ΔT _(rest) =k(t1−t2)  Equation 2

As an example, if it takes ten minutes for the temperature of food 108to rise by 10° during the initial portion of cooking, and it takes fiveminutes for the temperature of food 108 to rise by 10° during the middleportion of cooking, the thermal value is 2°/min using Equation 1 above.The resting temperature rise is then calculated as 10° using Equation 2(i.e., 2×(10 min−5 min)). Other implementations may use a differentcalculation to account for the thermal mass or conductivity of the food108 in predicting a resting temperature rise.

In situations where thermometer 100 includes an ambient thermal sensor,the ambient thermal sensor may be used to more accurately detect acooking start time by detecting when the ambient temperature risesfaster than a threshold value, such as a temperature increase of 5° C.This detection can be used in the example above to trigger themeasurement for t1. In other implementations, the detection of thebeginning of cooking can begin with a relatively small (e.g., 1° C.),but sudden temperature change indicating the insertion of thethermometer into the food 108. In another implementation, the beginningof cooking can be detected by the first temperature rise of the food 108that is measured by the thermometer 100. In yet another implementation,a user may indicate the start of cooking using a portable device, suchas with a user interface executed by device 110 a in FIG. 3B.

In some implementations, device 110 a or another device calculating aresting temperature rise may use readings from the ambient sensor toconsider changes in the cooking temperature during the cooking process.In one such implementation, an average of recent ambient temperatures isused to calculate an adjusted resting temperature rise as shown below inEquation 3.

ΔT _(restadj) =ΔT _(rest)( T _(amb) /T _(ambstart))  Equation 3

A completion time can be estimated using the thermal value of the food.In one implementation, a remaining temperature rise is calculated bysubtracting a current temperature for the food and the adjusted restingtemperature rise from a target temperature as shown below in Equation 4.

ΔT _(remaining) =T _(target)−(T _(current) +ΔT _(restadj))  Equation 4

The estimated completion time can then be estimated by dividing a recentthermal value by the remaining temperature rise calculated from Equation4 above. This implementation for calculating the estimated completiontime or estimated remaining time is expressed below in Equation 5.

t _(remaining) =k _(recent) /ΔT _(remaining)  Equation 5

The recent thermal value k_(recent) can be calculated in a similarmanner as the thermal value k discussed above.

The blocks discussed above may be repeated at various times throughout acooking process to provide updated estimates on the completion time.

Some implementations can advantageously take into account the cookingprocess and make real time recommendations as to cooking completion timeand temperature. A cooking process for meat often includes separatestages such as sear, cook, and rest. During the searing stage, high heatis applied to the meat to achieve surface crust texture, color, andflavor. During the cooking stage, the heat is applied to the meat untilinternal temperature reaches desired doneness or internal temperature.During the resting stage, the meat is removed from heat and the internaltemperature rises as heat between the surface of the meat and itsinternal parts equalizes.

With reference to block 410 of FIG. 4, at least one recommendation isprovided via a user interface based on at least one of the indication ofthe ambient temperature and the estimated completion time. For example,recommendations may be provided to a user in real time regarding whattime and temperature to move to the next stage of cooking. The cookingprocess can include a traditional progression of sear, cook, and rest,or a reverse sear progression (i.e., cook, sear, rest), or a progressionof cook, rest, and sear. The estimates for time and temperature, can bebased on the same thermal mass and heat application considerationsdiscussed above. According to the foregoing aspects, separatetemperature and time estimates can be provided for different stages ofcooking to allow for separate estimates during each stage.

In addition, the stage of cooking during a cooking process of the foodcan be determined by using the ambient temperature detected by anambient thermal sensor in the thermometer. For example, a relatively lowambient temperature can correspond to a resting stage, a relativelyhigher range of ambient temperature can correspond to a cooking stage,and an even higher ambient temperature range can correspond to a searingstage. Using the ambient thermal sensor, cooking stages can beautomatically detected by the thermometer or a portable electronicdevice without additional user input. Alternatively, otherimplementations can allow for user input to indicate a particularcooking stage.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for an example resting temperature rise estimationprocess that can be partly or wholly performed by the processor 114 of aportable electronic device, a charging device in wireless communicationwith the food thermometer, or by the food thermometer itself. Theresting temperature rise estimation process of FIG. 5 can be performedas a sub-process of a completion time estimation process as in FIG. 4 oras part of its own process or another process.

The description for blocks 502 and 504 can be understood with referenceto the description above for blocks 404 and 406 of FIG. 4, so adescription for these blocks is not repeated here. In block 506, aresting temperature rise is estimated based on the rate at which theindication of the food temperature changes. In addition, block 506considers at least one of a food type and an initial amount of time forthe indication of the food temperature to increase by a temperature risevalue during an initial period of cooking. In one example, a food type(e.g., ribeye steak, chicken, brisket) may be selected by a user via auser interface. The food type can then indicate a thermal mass of thefood that can be used with the rate determined in block 504 to estimatea resting temperature rise for the food.

Other implementations may consider an initial amount of time for theindication of the food temperature to increase by a temperature risevalue. The initial amount of time can be used with a thermal value asdiscussed above with reference to Equation 2 to calculate a restingtemperature rise.

In block 508, an adjusted resting temperature rise can be calculatedbased on one or more indications of an ambient temperature within apredetermined time period. In one example, an average of recent ambienttemperature values can increase or decrease the resting temperature riseestimated in block 506. In yet another example, a current ambienttemperature value can increase or decrease the resting temperature riseestimated in block 506. For example, the current ambient temperaturevalue may be compared to a reference ambient temperature value, such asan ambient temperature value at the start of cooking. This comparisoncan provide an estimate of the heat applied to the food, which can beused to adjust the resting temperature rise.

FIG. 6 shows an isometric view of the thermometer 100 according to anembodiment. The third portion 102 includes an ambient thermal sensor andan antenna. The handle 116 can be held by a user to insert or remove thethermometer 100 into or out of the food 108. The handle or hilt 116 caninclude a material for heat resistance and safer handling of thethermometer after heating. In some implementations, the hilt 116 caninclude an electrically insulating material that can withstand the hightemperatures of a cooking environment. For example, the material of thehilt 116 can include alumina, zirconia, ceramic porcelain, glass, or ahigh temperature plastic for relatively lower cooking temperatureapplications.

The first portion 106 includes electronics that are sensitive to heat.The heat sensitive electronics of the first portion 106 are positionedclose to a tip portion 112 of the thermometer to ordinarily allow forthe greatest amount of insulation from the food 108 in protecting theheat sensitive electronics from high temperatures. The probe shaft 144may include an exterior blade 118 made of stainless steel or anotherstainless material to allow for easier insertion of the thermometer 100into the food 108.

As discussed above, the third portion 102 can include an ambient thermalsensor to measure the ambient temperature near the food 108. The thirdportion 102 can also include an antenna for establishing wirelesscommunication with a portable electronic device such as electronicdevice 110 in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 7 is an internal view of the thermometer 100 showing internalcomponents encompassed by the probe shaft 144. Box 121 is shown forillustration purposes to roughly delineate parts of the thermometer 100that are usually positioned inside the food 108. As shown in FIG. 7, box121 includes the printed circuit board (PCB) 120 a, battery 120 b, andother electronic components 120 c that are sensitive to heat. In thisregard, battery 120 b and electronic components 120 c are located closerto the tip portion 112 than electronics on PCB 120 a that are lesssensitive to heat so that the battery 120 b and the electroniccomponents 120 c are better insulated by the food 108. In otherimplementations, all of the electronics of thermometer 100 may belocated in the first portion 106.

FIG. 8 further illustrates an example arrangement of various componentsin the food thermometer 100 according to an embodiment. A person ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the relative proportionsshown in FIG. 8 and example materials discussed below can differ indifferent implementations.

As shown in FIG. 8, the thermometer 100 includes a thermal sensor 136inside the second portion 104 of the thermometer 100 that is inelectrical communication with the electronics 120 a. The thermal sensor136 is located within the thermometer 100 to detect a temperature of thefood 108. In the example of FIG. 8, the thermal sensor 136 includes athermocouple wire that extends along a length of a portion of thethermometer 100 to provide a temperature measurement across a portion ofthe food 108. In other implementations, the thermal sensor 136 caninclude other types of thermal sensors such as a Resistance TemperatureDetector (RTD), one or more thermistors, or an infrared sensor.

A ground spring 128 serves to help ground the electronics 120 a to theexterior or blade of the thermometer 100. In some implementations, theexterior or blade 118 of the thermometer 100 can include a ferriticstainless steel. The tip 112 can similarly be made of a ferriticstainless steel. The electronics 120 a are attached to the tip 112 andthe antenna 126 with a push fit at each of locations 134 and 135,respectively.

The antenna 126 is positioned in the third portion 102 and can include ametal material such as stainless steel, a copper material, or a copperalloy with nickel that is in electronic communication with theelectronics 120 a. In the implementation shown in FIG. 8, the antenna126 is a quarter wave monopole antenna. In other implementations, theantenna 126 can be a half wave dipole. The dimensions and shape of theantenna 126 can vary based on the RF technology being used. In the casewhere the antenna 126 is a quarter wave monopole, an effective length ofthe antenna 126 is approximately a quarter of the wavelength used at aparticular frequency. For example, when using a frequency of 2.4 GHz,the effective length of the antenna would be 27 mm. The effective lengthof the antenna 126 may take into consideration a folding of the antennato decrease the space consumed by the antenna 126 in the thermometer100. The length of the middle portion of the thermometer 100 is sized tobe at least twice the length of the antenna 126 when using a quarterlength monopole.

In the example of FIG. 8, the tip 112 can be welded to the blade 118 anda silicon based flexible glue can be used to affix the electronics 120 aand the antenna 126 to the exterior structure of the thermometer 100near the hilt 116.

In other implementations, an interference fit attaches the electronics120 a and/or the antenna 126 to the exterior structure of thethermometer 100. The interference fit may include, for example, using atight fitting metal gasket or an arrangement where an internal surfaceof the exterior structure fits over a surface of the electronics 120 aor a surface of the antenna 126. Using an interference fit generallyshortens an assembly time since there is no need for a glue to cure andcan provide improved waterproofing and high temperature durability ascompared to most adhesives. The use of an interference fit can alsoeliminate perceived food safety concerns associated with the adhesiveescaping from the interior of the thermometer 100.

FIG. 9A shows a charging apparatus 700 for charging the battery 120 b ofthe thermometer 100 according to an embodiment. FIG. 9B shows thethermometer 100 removed from the charging apparatus 700. In this state,the thermometer 100 is automatically set to an ON state.

In some implementations, the thermometer 100 is automatically set to anoff state or low power state when positioned in the receptacle of thecharging apparatus 700 to conserve power when the thermometer 100 is notin use. During the off state or the low power state, certain portions ofthe electronics 120 a may be powered off that do not relate to chargingthe battery 120 b or detecting a charging state of the thermometer 100.

Similarly, the thermometer 100 can be automatically activated or turnedon when the thermometer is no longer in contact with the chargingapparatus 700. When activated, the thermometer 100 may attempt to pairwith a portable device such as portable device 110 a or otherwiseattempt to wirelessly communicate. In addition, circuitry for measuringthe temperature of the thermal sensor 136 and an ambient temperature mayalso be powered. Thermometer 100 may detect that it is no longer incontact with the charging apparatus 700 via a contact of the thermometer100 being no longer in contact with charging apparatus 700 or whencharging of the thermometer 100 stops. In this regard, someimplementations may include charging of the thermometer 100 through adirect contact with the charging apparatus 700, while otherimplementations may charge using inductive charging.

The automatic activation of the thermometer 100 using a voltage suppliedby the charging apparatus 700 can ordinarily reduce the need foradditional components such as an external button or switch to activateor wake the thermometer 100 from the low power or deactivated mode. Suchan external button or switch on the thermometer 100 can complicate themanufacture and increase the cost of the thermometer due towaterproofing, sealing, or high heat design specifications.

In the example of FIGS. 8A and 8B, a Bluetooth button 122 is providedfor allowing the charging apparatus 700 to wirelessly communicate with aportable electronic device to indicate a status of charging. Thecharging status indicator 124 (e.g., an LED) is also provided toindicate the charging status. If the thermometer 100 has less than acertain threshold of power (e.g., 95% state of charge), the chargingapparatus 700 will automatically charge it to full power.

As noted above, the charging apparatus 700 may also serve as a wirelessconnection bridge between the thermometer 100 and a wireless network(e.g., wireless network 111 in FIG. 3A). The charging apparatus 700 mayalso include an interface for connecting to the wireless network.

In addition, other embodiments may include a display on the chargingapparatus 700 to provide temperature information received from thethermometer 100 when it is in use. In this regard, the chargingapparatus can include an interface for communicating with thethermometer 100. In some embodiments, the charging apparatus 700 caninclude the processor 114 and the memory 115 discussed above forelectronic device 110 a in FIG. 3B. In such embodiments, the chargingdevice 700 can execute the application 10 to process temperature datareceived from thermometer 100 and generate information based on thereceived temperature data, such as the thermal mass of the food 108, thecompletion time, the resting temperature rise, or specific cookinginstructions. An indication of some or all of this generated informationmay be output on an output device of the charging apparatus 700, such asa display or on a speaker.

FIG. 10A shows an exterior view of another embodiment of a thermometer200. The like numbers in the 200's range refer to similar componentsdiscussed above in the 100's range for the thermometer 100. Thethermometer 200 includes a cylindrical pipe portion 230 located betweena tip portion 212 and a handle 216 in an antenna region 202corresponding to the third portion 102 of the thermometer 100 discussedabove. At the distal end, a cap 228 is connected to the handle 216.Certain differences in shape between the thermometer 200 and thethermometer 100 such as the cylindrical shape of the pipe 230 or theshape of the cap 228 can be related to design considerations, such asaesthetics, lower manufacturing costs, durability or ease of use.

FIG. 10B shows a transparent view of the thermometer 200. A battery 220b is shown positioned around the PCB 220 a contacts. Spring 228 providesan electrical ground contact for the electronics of the thermometer 200.As shown in FIG. 10B, the PCB 220 a extends from the tip portion 212through the pipe portion 230 and to the antenna region 202. However, theelectronics that are sensitive to heat are located on the PCB 220 acloser to the tip portion 212 than to the antenna region 202. Otherelectronics that are not as sensitive to heat can be located closertoward the antenna region 202. The temperature pair 240 provides ambienttemperature measurement near an exterior of the food. FIG. 10C shows thePCB 220 a, the temp pair 240, and grounding spring 228 in isolation toillustrate their exemplary structures. FIG. 10D is an internal side viewof the thermometer 200.

As shown in FIG. 10D, the battery 232 is positioned near the tip portion212 to allow the food to insulate the battery 232 from hightemperatures. One of the advantages of this arrangement is utilizing thebattery structure and positioning it in a manner to allow the battery tooperate despite high temperatures in a cooking vessel that may otherwisedegrade performance. Traditional electrolyte batteries for thermometersas known in the art may fail to operate under high temperatureconditions due to a lack of high temperature tolerance and/or hightemperature insulation. Due to the insulation provided by the food 108,the battery 232 can ordinarily have a lower operating temperature limitcorresponding to a maximum food cooking temperature plus a factor ofsafety (e.g., 100° C. for meat).

In addition, the battery 232 in some implementations can include asolid-state battery that tolerates a relatively higher temperature, suchas a thin film lithium battery that can tolerate up to 170° C. beforeperformance degrades. In such an implementation, the battery 232 wouldalso not include volatile solvents or liquid state chemicals that mayfurther eliminate potential food safety concerns.

As set forth above, the thermometer 200 also advantageously utilizesambient thermal sensing. Temperature measurement of a cooking vessel orambient heat can be taken near the food being cooked to enhance theaccuracy of temperature measurement since heat can vary from onelocation to another within a cooking vessel, such as a BBQ. For anRF-based thermometer such as the thermometer 100, the antenna can belocated in the same portion of the thermometer as an ambient sensor,which is just outside the food 108. Such an embodiment advantageouslycombines the antenna and the thermal sensor as the portion 102 discussedabove with respect to FIG. 1. One challenge is that the portion 102 mayoften need to withstand high temperatures within the cooking vessel thatcan reach up to 400° C.

Referring to FIG. 11A, one embodiment for sensing ambient temperature isshown. An ambient thermal sensor 940 may include an RTD, or otherpassive high temperature sensor such as a thermistor. The ambientthermal sensor 940 is positioned at an end of the thermometer 900A, awayfrom the food for better accuracy when the thermometer 900A is insertedinto the food 908. The antenna 926 is also located in an end portion ofthe thermometer 900A in antenna region 902, to avoid reduction of RFperformance since the food 908 may otherwise attenuate RF signals.

The thermal sensor wire or wires 942 electrically connect the ambientthermal sensor 940 with a PCB in the thermometer 900A. In order toreduce interference to antenna functionality due to inductive andcapacitive coupling between the antenna 926 and the sensor wire(s) 942,some implementations can advantageously increase a high frequencyimpedance between the thermal sensor wire(s) 942 and the ground plane(shell) 944. Filter components 946 can also be added to mitigate thedeterioration of RF performance. The filter components 946 may includeferrite beads, inductors, capacitors, resistors, and/or other electroniccomponents configured to mitigate the effect.

In other implementations, the PCB of the thermometer 900A can include aninfrared sensor to measure a temperature of the antenna region 902instead of using the ambient thermal sensor 940 in the antenna region902. The temperature of the antenna region would then indirectlyindicate the ambient temperature near the exterior of the food 908. Insuch implementations, infrared light radiated from a component in theantenna region 902, such as the antenna 926 or the handle, is detectedby the infrared sensor to measure a temperature in the antenna region902. A light guide may also be used to direct the infrared light fromthe antenna region 902 to the infrared sensor.

Referring to FIG. 11B, an alternative arrangement of the thermometer900B for sensing ambient temperature is shown. The ambient thermalsensor 940 may be an RTD, or other passive high temperature sensor. Thelocation of the thermal sensor 940 can ordinarily reduce interferencethat might otherwise be caused by the thermal sensor 940. The antenna926 is located at the distal end of the thermometer 900B, outside of thefood 908 to avoid reduction of RF performance caused by the food 108attenuating RF signals.

The ambient thermal sensor 940 is positioned outside of the antennaregion 902 toward a center portion of the thermometer 900B and detectsthe ambient temperature via the antenna 926. In more detail, the ambientthermal sensor 940 is located inside the second portion 904 and is notdirectly exposed to the ambient space outside of the thermometer 900B.The ambient thermal sensor 940 is in thermal contact with the antenna926 and indirectly detects the ambient temperature near an exteriorportion of the food 908 via thermal conduction through the antenna 926,which may or may not be exposed to the ambient space near the exteriorof the food 908.

One challenge associated with this arrangement is that the thermalsensor 940 is not directly detecting ambient temperature, but rather,the thermal sensor 940 is detecting the ambient temperature viamechanical couplings. Although thermometer 900B in FIG. 11B may have abetter RF performance as compared to thermometer 900A in FIG. 11A, thethermal response for the thermal sensor 940 of thermometer 900B istypically slower and there can be some loss of thermal measurementresolution due to the indirect measurement through antenna 926.

Referring to FIG. 11C, an alternative arrangement for sensing ambienttemperature is shown. In thermometer 900C, the thermal sensor 940 andthe thermal sensor wire or wires 942 are used as at least part of anantenna. As shown in FIG. 11C, the thermal sensor wiring 942 extendsfrom the electronics of 920 a in the first portion 906, and through thesecond portion 904 to reach the ambient thermal sensor 940 in the thirdportion 902. Mixer 948 combines RF signals to the thermal sensor wire(s)942. Thermal sensor wire(s) 942 then work as antenna(s) after separatingfrom ground reference 941. For ground referenced antennas, a dipoleantenna could also be used but it may require a larger size for similarperformance. The arrangement of thermometer 900C advantageously enhancesRF performance and increases time and accuracy of the thermal sensor940.

In order for the thermometer 900C to be re-chargeable, it can receivepower from an external power source to recharge. This can be challengingwhen having to confine charging to an end of the thermometer (e.g.,region 902 that houses the antenna 926) which is external to food 908.Antenna region 902 may have to endure relatively high ambienttemperatures up to 400° C. and maintain sealing to prevent water orother contaminants from entering the thermometer 900C.

Referring to FIG. 11D, an external electric contact 950 is provided forcharging the battery of the food thermometer 900D. The discrete externalelectric contact 950 is configured to allow the thermometer 900D toreceive power from an external source, such as charging device 700discussed above for recharging the battery.

In the example of FIG. 11D, the external electric contact 950 isconnected with the antenna 926, thereby combining antenna and chargingto relate to the same electrical signal. RF signals are separated fromcharging using a separator filter 948. This feature advantageouslyallows co-locating both types of signals in antenna region 902 withoutinterference.

In an alternative arrangement, inductive charging can be applied tocharge the thermometer 900D. However, inductive charging may require arelatively large inductive component. As such, some implementations canuse a discrete charging contact instead of inductive charging due toadvantages related to size, simplicity, and efficiency of theelectronics.

In some implementations, the thermometer 900D can save power by turningoff radio communications when charging via charging contact 950. Thiscan ordinarily reduce the size of the battery needed for the thermometer900D. In one implementation, a charging device such as charging device700 can be used to communicate with electronics of the thermometer 900Dvia the charging contact 950. Wireless products may need user controlfor operations such as the Bluetooth pairing process. The user may needto be able to send simple messages to the thermometer 900D by physicalmeans before being able to establish RF communication. In conventionaldevices, such messages are usually given via mechanical means such as apush button or switch. In the example of thermometer 900D such messagesby be sent by pressing a button on the charging device 700 and using thecharging contact to send the message via a physical connection throughantenna 926, thermal sensor 940, and thermal sensor wiring 942 to reachthe separator filter 948, which can include RF/control signal filtercomponents to separate received control signals from RF signals fortransmission via antenna 926. In this regard, the filter components 948can be utilized to separate control signals from RF signals. Controlsignals can be sent using low frequency signals, thereby making iteasier to separate them from RF signals with frequency filters of thefilter components 948.

The thermometer 900D may also need to sustain high temperatures andmaintain sealing from external contaminants. Mechanical simplicity maythen be desirable and can be obtained by avoiding additional mechanicalswitches or buttons on the thermometer 900D. The thermometer 900D canadvantageously use the recharging contact 950 to send signals to theportable electronic device, thereby enhancing mechanical simplicity.

FIG. 11E illustrates an arrangement of the thermometer 900E where aninner shell 952 is used as at least part of an antenna in an antennaportion 926 of the inner shell 952, and also used as part of a coaxialwave guide with the outer shell 944 in a coaxial transmission portion958 of the inner shell 952. As shown in FIG. 11E, the charging contact950, thermal sensor 940, the thermal sensor wiring 942, and the antennaportion 926 of the inner shell 952 comprise an antenna. The antennaportion 926 is located within the hilt 916, which can include a ceramicmaterial.

The inner shell 952 can be made of a conductive material such as copper,which can transmit a signal from the PCB 920 a or other electronics inthe first or second portions of the thermometer 900E to the antenna inthe third portion 902 for transmission to a remote portable device or acharging device. The coaxial transmission portion 958 of the inner shell952 is located within the metallic outer shell 944, which can include astainless steel material. The metal outer shell 944 works with thecoaxial transmission portion 958 of the inner shell 952 to serve as awaveguide so that an antenna RF signal is generally confined between theouter shell 944 and the inner shell 952 in the second portion.

The thermal sensor wiring 942 and the ambient thermal sensor 940 arelocated inside the inner shell 952, which generally shields them fromthe antenna RF signal between the inner shell 952 and the outer shell944. As a result, interference is reduced in both the temperature signalconducted in the sensor wiring 942 and the antenna RF signal conductedin the coaxial transmission waveguide. In other words, placing thesensor wiring 942 inside the inner shell 952 can ordinarily avoid RFinfluence on the antenna signal and interference in the temperaturesignal carried in the sensor wiring 942. In this regard, someimplementations may use air or another dielectric material as aninsulator between the sensor wiring 942 and the inner shell 952 tofurther reduce interference between the temperature signal and theantenna signal.

In the example of FIG. 11E, the ambient thermal sensor 940 indirectlymeasures the ambient temperature through the charging contact 950. Thiscan allow for the measurement of the ambient temperature at a preferredlocation on the end of the thermometer 900E. In some implementations,the ambient thermal sensor 940 can include a thermocouple.

The combination of the charging contact 950 and the inner shell 952serves as a charging path for charging the battery 920 b in the firstportion 906 of the thermometer 900E. The PCB 920 a located in the secondportion 904 and includes grounded terminals 951 at both the terminal 951a connecting the battery 920 b and at the terminal 951 b connecting thesensor wiring 942. The terminals 951 are grounded on the outer metalshell 944, and the contacts for the thermal sensor wiring 942 on the PCB920 a are inside the inner shell 952 to further reduce possible RFinterference. The PCB 920 a can include a microstrip line for carryingan antenna signal and a transformer to convert the antenna signal fromthe microstrip line to the coaxial transmission portion of the innershell 952.

The thermal sensor 936 in mounted on the PCB 920 a and detects atemperature of the outer shell 944 for measuring a temperature of theinterior of the food. Since sensor 936 is behind the coaxialtransmission portion of the inner shell 952, there is no interferencewith the RF antenna signal transmitted to the antenna portion 902.

In summary, the inner shell 952 is configured to provide one or more offour different functions in the thermometer 900E. The first function canbe as at least part of an antenna in the antenna portion 902 of theinner shell 952. The second function can be as a coaxial transmissionline inside the outer shell 944 to carry a signal between the antennaportion 902 and electronics, such as those located on the PCB 920 a. Thethird function can be as a conductor for charging the battery 920 b viathe charging contact 950. The fourth function can be for communicatingan activation or deactivation of the thermometer 900E depending onwhether the thermometer 900E is charging via the charging contact 950.As noted above, activation can include enabling a pairing mode via theantenna.

By serving multiple functions with the inner shell 952, it is ordinarilypossible to condense the size of thermometer 900E, while improving itsperformance in terms of the RF signal of the antenna and the accuracy ofambient temperature measurement.

The foregoing description of the disclosed example embodiments isprovided to enable any person of ordinary skill in the art to make oruse the embodiments in the present disclosure. Various modifications tothese examples will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill inthe art, and the principles disclosed herein may be applied to otherexamples without departing from the spirit or scope of the presentdisclosure. The described embodiments are to be considered in allrespects only as illustrative and not restrictive and the scope of thedisclosure is, therefore, indicated by the following claims rather thanby the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaningand range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within theirscope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for estimating a completion time forcooking food using a food thermometer, the method comprising: receivingan indication of an ambient temperature near the food using an ambienttemperature sensor of the food thermometer; receiving an indication of afood temperature at an interior portion of the food using one or morethermal sensors of the food thermometer; determining a rate at which theindication of the food temperature changes; and estimating thecompletion time based on at least the indication of the ambienttemperature near the food and the rate at which the indication of thefood temperature changes.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein determiningthe rate at which the indication of the food temperature changesincludes: determining a temperature rise value based on the indicationof the ambient temperature; and measuring an amount of time for theindication of the food temperature to increase by the temperature risevalue.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving userinput from a user interface indicating a characteristic of the foodincluding at least one of a food type, a weight of the food, and a typeof preparation for the food; and estimating the completion time based onthe received user input.
 4. The method of claim 2, comprisingdetermining the temperature rise value by selecting a food type for thefood from a plurality of food types, with different food types beingassociated with different temperature rise values for the sameindication of the ambient temperature.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising estimating a resting temperature rise for an amount oftemperature rise in the food after the food will be removed from heatbased on the rate at which the indication of the food temperaturechanges and at least one of a food type of the food, a thickness of thefood, and an amount of time for the indication of the food temperatureto increase by a temperature rise value during a period of cooking. 6.The method of claim 5, further comprising calculating an adjustedresting temperature rise based on one or more indications of the ambienttemperature.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein estimating the completiontime includes determining a remaining cooking time by: determining aremaining temperature increase based on at least the resting temperaturerise, wherein the remaining temperature increase indicates an amount oftemperature increase needed to reach a target temperature of the food;and determining the remaining cooking time based on at least theremaining temperature increase.
 8. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising providing at least one recommendation via a user interfacebased on at least one of the indication of the ambient temperature andthe estimated completion time.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the atleast one recommendation includes at least one of a recommendation tomove to a next stage of cooking and a recommendation to adjust atemperature of a cooking vessel.
 10. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising automatically determining a stage of cooking based on theindication of the ambient temperature.
 11. The method of claim 10,further comprising automatically determining a resting stage of cookingbased on an indication of an ambient temperature below a predeterminedtemperature.
 12. A method for estimating a resting temperature rise offood using a wireless food thermometer for an amount of temperature risein the food after the food will be removed from heat, the methodcomprising: receiving an indication of food temperature at an interiorportion of the food using one or more thermal sensors of the foodthermometer; determining a rate at which the indication of the foodtemperature changes; and estimating the resting temperature rise basedon the determined rate at which the indication of the food temperaturechanges and at least one of a food type, a thickness of the food, and anamount of time for the indication of the food temperature to increase bya temperature rise value during a period of cooking.
 13. The method ofclaim 12, further comprising calculating an adjusted resting temperaturerise based on one or more indications of an ambient temperature.
 14. Themethod of claim 12, further comprising: determining a remainingtemperature increase based on at least the estimated resting temperaturerise, wherein the remaining temperature increase indicates an amount oftemperature increase needed to reach a target temperature of the food;and determining a remaining cooking time for the food based on at leastthe remaining temperature increase.
 15. A method of operating a foodthermometer, the method comprising: detecting disconnection of a foodthermometer from a charging apparatus; and automatically poweringcircuitry of the food thermometer in response to the detection of thedisconnection of the food thermometer from the charging apparatus. 16.The method of claim 15, further comprising: detecting connection of thefood thermometer to the charging apparatus; and automatically poweringoff circuitry of the food thermometer in response to the detection ofthe connection of the food thermometer to the charging apparatus. 17.The method of claim 16, wherein circuitry of the food thermometer forcharging a battery of the food thermometer remains powered after thepowering off of circuitry of the food thermometer in response to thedetection of the connection of the food thermometer to the chargingapparatus.
 18. The method of claim 15, further comprising powering oncircuitry of the food thermometer that is configured to wirelesslycommunicate with another device in response to the detection of thedisconnection of the food thermometer from the charging apparatus. 19.The method of claim 15, further comprising powering on circuitry for oneor more temperature sensors of the food thermometer in response to thedetection of the disconnection of the food thermometer from the chargingapparatus.
 20. The method of claim 15, further comprising detecting atleast one of disconnection of the food thermometer from the chargingapparatus and connection of the food thermometer to the chargingapparatus using a charging contact of the food thermometer configured toreceive power from the charging apparatus.
 21. A method for using awireless food thermometer, the method comprising: wirelessly receivingat a first electronic device data indicating a temperature detected bythe food thermometer; executing an application by a processor of thefirst electronic device to process the data wirelessly received from thefood thermometer; and wirelessly sending from the first electronicdevice to a second electronic device at least one of the data indicatingthe temperature detected by the food thermometer and data resulting fromthe processing of the data wirelessly received from the foodthermometer.
 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising: wirelesslyreceiving at the first electronic device the data indicating thetemperature detected by the food thermometer using a first wirelesscommunication protocol; and wirelessly sending from the first electronicdevice to the second electronic device at least one of the dataindicating the temperature detected by the food thermometer and the dataresulting from the processing of the data received from the foodthermometer using a second wireless communication protocol.
 23. Themethod of claim 22, wherein the first wireless communication protocol isa Bluetooth protocol and the second wireless communication protocol is aWiFi protocol.
 24. The method of claim 21, further comprising wirelesslysending from the first electronic device to a third electronic device atleast one of the data indicating the temperature detected by the foodthermometer and the data resulting from the processing of the datareceived from the food thermometer.
 25. The method of claim 21, whereinthe first electronic device is a charging apparatus configured to chargea battery of the food thermometer.
 26. The method of claim 21, whereinthe second electronic device is part of a cloud service.